Schools

Murrieta 10th Graders Outperform County Peers on Exit Exams

Ninety-four percent of sophomores districtwide passed their English-language arts exit exam and 92 percent passed their math exam, giving them the highest passage rate in the county in 2010-2011.

Sophomores in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District outperformed those at other Riverside County high schools on the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) taken last year.

Ninety-four percent of sophomores districtwide passed their English-language arts exit exam and 92 percent passed their math exam, giving them the highest passage rate in the county in 2010-2011, according to data released today by the California Department of Education.

Ninety-two percent of sophomores in the Temecula Valley Unified School District passed both their English-language arts and math exit exam.

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Countywide, Superintendent of Schools Kenneth M. Young said the overall pass rate in math ranked seventh among the state's 16 most populated counties--up three places from last year.

In English, the county also ranked seventh, up from ninth last year.

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"Our students have come a long way since this test was created, and they're rising up through the ranks of students in comparable counties,'' Young said. "That's a great sign of discipline and determination among our students. They understand the importance of graduating from high school and the CAHSEE is a major milestone. They're taking it seriously and working hard to succeed."

All students in California must take the exit exam during their sophomore year. They have two more opportunities to pass it in the 11th grade and three chances as seniors.   

According to county officials, differences in scores remain but are
narrowing between ethnic subgroups. Figures showed 90 percent of white students passed both halves of the CAHSEE. However, Hispanic and black students each topped out at 78 percent on the English language portion of the exam. The passage rate for Hispanics on the math section was 79 percent, and 75 percent for black students.   

Taken in total, the top-five performing school districts in the county were Murrieta Valley Unified, Temecula Valley Unified, Corona-Norco Unified, Riverside Unified and Beaumont Unified.   

Statewide, 82.7 percent of 10th graders passed the math portion of the test, while 82.4 percent passed the English portion.  

According to the CDE, 94.6 percent of students in the class of 2011
across the state passed the overall exam, up from 94.5 percent last year.

"It is heartening to see that our students continue to learn and  achieve despite the painful toll that budget cuts are taking on our schools,'' said Tom Torlakson, state superintendent of public instruction. "The results of this year's exit examination -- and the progress schools are making to close the achievement gap -- are yet another sign of the remarkable commitment that teachers, school employees and administrators have to the students of California.''   

The class of 2006 was the first graduating class in California that was
required to meet the exit exam requirement.   

Torklason noted that the achievement gap between Hispanic and white
students has narrowed by 11.6 percentage points from the class of 2006 to the class of 2013--this year's 10th graders--on the English portion of the test and 12 percentage points on the math section.   

The gap between black and white students shrank over that same time
period by 6.5 percentage points in English and 9.9 points in math.

Among comprehensive high schools in Murrieta, 95 percent of sophomores at passed their English exit exams and 93 percent passed their math. At 94 percent passed their English and 93 passed their math. And at , 93 percent passed their English and 90 percent passed their math.

In neighboring Lake Elsinore Unified School District, 82 percent of sophomores passed their English and 81 percent passed their math.

In the Perris Union High School District, which serves Menifee students, 83 percent of sophomores passed their math and 81 percent passed their English.

City News Service contributed to this report.


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